Diabetes Mellitus: Classification and Epidemiology

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a leading public health concern in the United States and around the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 15 million people in the United States, or 5.9% of the population, have diabetes and 798,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Diabetes affects people of all ages but is most common in the elderly. While fewer than 1% of people under the age of 20 have diabetes, more than 18% of Americans age 65 and older have the disease. Diabetes affects men and women equally, but is more common in certain minority populations than it is in non-Hispanic whites. The risk of developing diabetes is approximately two times higher in Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks than it is in non-Hispanic whites. In Native Americans and Alaskan Natives the risk is nearly three times than of non-Hispanic whites.1

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References

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